Spiritual Stains
4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
Matthew 3:4-6
I love the feeling of being clean. One of the greatest experiences I reckon is the first shower after a few days bush camping. Swimming in the ocean or a river is nice but just never feels the same as that first hot shower at home. Have you felt that?
I think most humans love the feeling of being clean. And getting physically clean is pretty easy for most of us. It’s as simple as a hot shower. But what about getting spiritually clean?
I think most humans carry around a feeling. A weight. A sense of being stained by some of the things they’ve done. Some feel it more than others. Some are more desensitised than others. But I think we all feel it to some extent.
Maybe it was because of how poorly we have treated others. Maybe it’s because we’ve failed in certain relationships. Maybe it’s because you’ve been lying on your tax return. I really wonder how much of the anxiety we feel is connected to sins we haven’t spiritually been able to shrug off.
So how do we get spiritually clean? I’ll get to the answer on Saturday (yes, it’s Jesus), but for now, I rekon the right starting point is to acknowledge the spiritual stains. You won’t seek a solution if you don’t think there’s a problem. So can I encourage you to do something very brave today and reflect on the mistakes, misdeeds, motivations and so on that you carry around.
See the problem. On Saturday, let’s come to why Jesus is a wonderful solution.
For Today:
Pray:
Matthew 3:4-6
I love the feeling of being clean. One of the greatest experiences I reckon is the first shower after a few days bush camping. Swimming in the ocean or a river is nice but just never feels the same as that first hot shower at home. Have you felt that?
I think most humans love the feeling of being clean. And getting physically clean is pretty easy for most of us. It’s as simple as a hot shower. But what about getting spiritually clean?
I think most humans carry around a feeling. A weight. A sense of being stained by some of the things they’ve done. Some feel it more than others. Some are more desensitised than others. But I think we all feel it to some extent.
Maybe it was because of how poorly we have treated others. Maybe it’s because we’ve failed in certain relationships. Maybe it’s because you’ve been lying on your tax return. I really wonder how much of the anxiety we feel is connected to sins we haven’t spiritually been able to shrug off.
So how do we get spiritually clean? I’ll get to the answer on Saturday (yes, it’s Jesus), but for now, I rekon the right starting point is to acknowledge the spiritual stains. You won’t seek a solution if you don’t think there’s a problem. So can I encourage you to do something very brave today and reflect on the mistakes, misdeeds, motivations and so on that you carry around.
See the problem. On Saturday, let’s come to why Jesus is a wonderful solution.
For Today:
- Do you love that feeling of being clean? Why?
- Do you know someone who carries around a great weight of sin?
- What spiritual stains do you carry around?
Pray:
- Praise the Father that He is holy and perfectly clean.
- Give thanks for Jesus Christ who was without the stain of sin.
- Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others see our sins rightly.
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